Stick To It.

I’ve seen the “Please Let Me Merge Before I Start Crying” sticker several times now, including one version that had musical notes around it which made me think there was a song with that line in it. However I couldn’t find one. There should be a song. What I did find was that some people are annoyed by the sticker, which I don’t understand. Every time I see it I feel sorry for the driver and think, well, of course I’m going to let you merge. Then I realize the only reason I’m seeing it is because they’re in front of me, probably because I’ve let them merge. That makes me feel a little better. I’ve done a small thing to keep someone from crying. Of course I also avoid driving on interstates as much as I can—I’ll take the slightly slower stop-and-start traffic of regular roads simply because anything over 60MPH makes me nervous. I’ve also done the math, or rather the maps. In most cases the hassle of getting to the on-ramp, going down the interstate, and then getting to the off-ramp wouldn’t save me more than a few minutes. My morning commute would actually be longer if I took the interstate, at least in part because of all the traffic. Most of it would be the trucks getting an early start on their long hauls.

On the subject of bumper stickers I used to work in customer service for a company that provided truckers with fuel and other costs on the road as well as their paychecks. Most of the time the truckers I talked to were nice and grateful for the help but once in a while something would go wrong and a few got really, really angry. One day as my coworkers and I were sitting at our stations answering the phones the higher-ups handed out bumper stickers with the company logo. We all smiled politely and quietly slipped them into the trash. The last thing we all wanted was for some angry truck driver to come up behind us on the interstate and take out all that frustration on our car.

Most of the time while driving, though, I don’t really notice bumper stickers, or, if I do, they’re too small or go by too fast for me to read them and I’m focused on driving. Sometimes while parked and walking somewhere I’ll see a car with a fun collection of bumper stickers that makes me want to stop and wait until the driver comes back just so I can say, “Hey, I really like your style.”

That may be a little bit too forward.

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6 Comments

  1. Thomas Slatin (She/Her)

    If you ever visit Vermont, it won’t be long until you see someone with a Subaru that has the entire back covered with stickers. It’s a New England thing.
    Thomas Slatin (She/Her) recently posted…I Love You I’m SorryMy Profile

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    1. Christopher Waldrop (Post author)

      I love that. Every once in a while I’ll see a car around here with the entire back covered with stickers but it’s rare. Still whenever I see a car like that it always seems like the person driving it must be really interesting.

      Reply
  2. Allison

    I had a few bumperstickers on my Toyota Echo – my husband suggested that for future cars, I not become “crazy sticker lady”. I have been stickerless ever since, but I appreciate great stickers, and take lots of pics of the ones I like. I saw one the other day with a graphic of a pit bull that read “show us your pitties”. I’m a fan!

    Reply
    1. Christopher Waldrop (Post author)

      That’s a hilarious bumper sticker–I think I’ve seen that one somewhere. I could easily become a crazy sticker guy myself but I prefer to put stickers on things like my journals, my iPad, and my ukulele cases. I feel like those things are a better expression of who I am than the car.

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  3. Ann Koplow

    i often notice bumper stickers, Chris, because I’m very interested in communication and what people reveal about themselves. These days, so many bumper stickers are political, declaring what “team’ people are on. Those can be very sticky and I wonder if they ever lead to confrontations. And I have to admit I sometimes feel like sticking it to people who have certain bumper stickers on their cars.
    Ann Koplow recently posted…Day 4419: CatastrophesMy Profile

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    1. Christopher Waldrop (Post author)

      Living as I do in a large city I’m often reassured by the bumper stickers I see that make me think I’m surrounded by interesting, intelligent people–mostly, anyway. And mostly I do what I can to avoid those who have certain bumper stickers on their cars. Around here I know it’s all too likely they’re carrying guns.

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